Call Me Spitfire
by WonderlandSyndrome
Summary: Leifang was beaten out of DOA5, but there is something else that hurts her pride even more...
1. Aftermath

A possible aftermath to DOA5 following Jann and Lei.

**Warnings: **Violence, sexual themes (of the hetro kid), bad language sometimes, some spoilers for DOA5 (mostly at the beginning)

* * *

**Call Me Spitfire**

**Part 1: Aftermath**

Leifang had been kicked out of Dead or Alive 5, and that hurt. The bruises stung of course, and she had bust her lip on the hard stadium floor, but it was her pride was in tatters, ruined.

It was him again. Jann Lee. She had been distracted by something, but only when he came on. Before then, it was all about the tournament. What had gotten to her?

Oh yeah. She was remembering the subway crash. It was in New York and she had followed him onto a train. She was as sneaky as a ninja but he managed to spot her somehow. They were going to fight right there and then, but there was something on the track and the cart went flying. One moment she was in a perfect stance, standing before him proudly, and the next the wall had become the floor, she was frightfully dizzy, and she had a bouncer under her. Or was she upon the bouncer?

No matter. The point was that they were really close; staring eye to eye in shock and the heat between their bodies was unbearable. She felt awkwardness and something else she could not identify, but whatever it was she was not happy about it.

She tried to keep her cheerful nature up as the medics saw to her cuts, and while Zack gave her a post-fight interview. She was smiling and laughing and promising her fans that next time she was going to be much better and thanked them all, all the while filling up with self-loathing and sadness.

She joined the rest of the defeated at the bar, and nursed a rum and coke around her swollen mouth as they watched the rest of the rounds on the screens. In the end, the finals came down to Hitomi and Jann Lee. Brad tried to get bets rolling but no one wanted to pick a side. They all knew that this was going to be a close one.

Jann Lee did not humour Zack during his pre-final interview, and remained silent up to the point the MC got annoyed and left to find Hitomi.

"At least she is sociable!" Zack shouted through the doorway, "and she's nicer to look at!"

"Typical Jann" Kokoro sighed, and although Leifang didn't say anything she agreed fully.

Hitomi was far more camera friendly. She had jokes with Zack and was smiling all the time, and was cheeky enough to childishly taunt the losers through the len. Tina and Mila playfully throw peanuts at the TV screen.

The final round was nail-bitingly tense, and it was too brutal to watch at times. Hitomi was staggering about everywhere and was surely heading for a concussion. In the right light, it looked like Jann Lee's spit was laced with blood.

After an hour, Hitomi hit the ground and could not get up again. Jann Lee had won, and the crowd went wild. Leifang did not stay for the cheers. She just drained her tumbler and made her way to the harbour, leaving the screams behind. They were chanting his name endlessly, and will likely live off the buzz all night, but all she wanted to do was get to her cabin and sleep the ache away. The waves rolling against the sides of the ship helped to mask the noises created by the masses of people but she slept restlessly.

She awoke the next morning to find the Freedom Survivor already drifting along the waves and the dining room full of chattering fighters around little tables. She managed to grab Eliot by the buffet table.

"Didn't you hear? Jann Lee didn't return to the boat last night. He didn't even turn up to the winner's ceremony."

"How come?"

"No one knows. Zack was running about trying to find him but he was long gone. He wasn't on here; he wasn't on the oil rig. He took all his stuff so he must be making his own way back home."

Leifang just helped herself to toast and a sliced banana and found a table all alone on the far side of the room. She pondered about this strange event. All Jann Lee ever wanted was to prove he was better than anyone else, and he did it. So why not take the cash price and the title officially? Did the baying crowd put him off? Was he not satisfied with his win? It was a mystery all right.

She thought about it hard until Hitomi came in. She watched as her friend stopped at the different tables to receive congratulations with a smiling face, and made a quick journey around the food table before joining her on the empty side of the hall. Leifang could not miss how black and purple the left side of her face was, and how swollen the area around her eye socket was.

"The doctor said that I was lucky to walk away without a fractured skull" Hitomi said causally as she sandwiched bacon and syrup into her bagel. "Never knew my face could take that much kicking." She grinned across the table. "So what do you think? Second is not that bad, right?"

"Second is awesome" Leifang chirped. "I'm really happy for you." She tried to smile but the stretching made her split lip sting.

"I'll get first next time," Hitomi insisted. "I must have been just a bit too tired. I did have a practice session with Ei-" she caught herself, "Hayate before the final. Maybe that was my error."

"Hayate?" Leifang arched a brow. "You mean that quiet guy? He was here."

"Yeah. With his little sister. Remember Ayane?"

"Sure... How come they were here but not in the tournament? There little group always get such a big reaction out of the crowd."

"...I'm not sure," Hitomi shrugged. "I'm guess they had their reasons." She left it at that.

"You must be annoyed," Leifang signed, "to miss out on the big prize and your opponent did not even appear to take it from you."

"I guess, but I'm more worried."

"Worried? For that guy?"

"Yeah. For him to just take off like that was a little startlingly."

"I wouldn't waste energy fussing over Jann," Leifang said almost harshly, turning her attention to her banana, placing the pieces into a smiley face on her plate. "He is just doing this to be dramatic."

During breakfast, they talked about other things: their performances in the ring, how great the food was here, what they were going to do when they got home. A while ago, maybe during the year of the third tournament, Leifang realised that no matter what, the conversations the fighters had with each other always returned to DOA. It was such a large part of their lives now that it had become their lives. When not in a tournament, they were training for the following one. It was kinda pathetic in a way, perhaps creepy. They take the time to come together and beat the crap out of each other. They were all sadomasochists without any of the kinky subtext. Come on, what was sexy about getting a punch to the gut so hard you almost vomit over your opponent's shoes?

Leifang did not say any of this to Hitomi, not wanting to upset her or put her off her food, but she knew that Hitomi knew all of that already. They all did.

The girls were almost finished with breakfast when Zack burst in. For once, he was the best looking one in the room, free from any major bruises and dressed in a smart grey business suit which he likely received from Helena. She couldn't have her representatives running around in fancy dress.

"There you are!" He came strutting over to the girls, obviously disgruntled and made everything rock as he slammed his hands against the table top. "Where is his?"

"Who?" Leifang said in a teasing tone.

"You know who. Lover boy or whatever you call him."

"Don't insult me!" The girl barked, and then she hissed as she had pulled her mouth too wide and her lip started to bleed again. Hitomi fished out an ice cube from her orange juice, and Leifang only then realise how red and hot she got from Zack's comment, feeling the ice melt quickly against her face. "As if I would be dating Jann. He hates my guts and you know it."

"Hey, I didn't mean it, Lei-Lei" Zack frowned, rubbing the back of his neck, "and I don't think the guy hates you or anything. Maybe he is not good with headstrong girls."

"Not an excuse. DOA is full of them."

Again to the tournament, Leifang thought to herself.

"Look, let's cut to the chase here," Zack said at least. "Have you seen him or not? You are often shadowing or whatever you do, so I thought maybe...?"

"The last time I saw Jann Lee in person was in the ring," Leifang said slowly and calmly, as if explaining it to a child. "I haven't seen him since."

Zack's shoulders slumped. Obviously he was hoping that Leifang would give him something useful, but now he was left with nothing to lead on. Kind of desperately, he looked over to Hitomi, but the girl smiled weakly and shook her head.

"He knocked me out remember? I didn't come to until late after the winner's ceremony was cancelled. He was gone by then."

"Yeah, yeah." Zack nodded his head. "Should have known that." Before he turned tailed, he grabbed some banana off Leifang's plate, completely removing the left eye. "Just so you know, Hitomi. If Jann doesn't come and claim the prize money, you get it, babe!" He sound ecstatic for her and he waved goodbye.

"I don't think it's the money that Jann was after," Leifang mumbled. She looked out of the window as her friend finished her breakfast, watching the endless stretch of sea flow and crash against the horizon.

She knew that she wanted to talk to Jann, and even if it turned out to be a bad idea she had to do it. But where to begin? China was a big place where anyone could go and hide and never be found. At least not easily.

She spent the rest of the journey thinking about how she would go about this search for Jann Lee. She needed to kill time somehow. It was a long way back to Shanghai.


	2. Small Talk

**Call Me Spitfire**

**Part 2: Small Talk  
**

It took Leifang a month before she started the search for Jann Lee. Her parents wanted her to recover first, although there was nothing that Leifang felt was wrong with her. She followed their wish anyway. She understood their worries.

Leifang's parents had always supported her choices, and her need to learn marital arts was no exception. However, this world of wounds and white-hot egos was strange and scary to them. They watched the tournaments on TV in discomfort and seeing their precious daughter's face turn black and blue was heart-breaking to them. They just wanted to make sure she was okay. Leifang was grateful for their concern.

For the time being, Leifang only did a couple of hours light training a day and saw the doctor once a week. She was x-rayed and checked over but she was fine inside. They stitched her lip up and it was awkward to eat around. The doctor said nothing about her marks as he worked on her, but one time a nurse did during a urine test. It was while she was handing Leifang the empty tube and took her to the ladies toilets. She was no less than forty and Leifang thought of her as very motherly and doughy.

"We see you like this every year and you always get worse in one way or another. I just think it's a shame, miss. A pretty girl like you shouldn't fight."  
But it was because she was a pretty girl that Leifang felt that she had to fight. It was because that she was a pretty girl that a gang of men tried to attack her, and why a man saved her. Looks and brains can only help so far when it comes to a curled up fist or a well-landed kick or a knife against the throat. Out of DOA, in the real world, she was a target.

Leifang promised she would never let a man get the better of her again, and the only way she was going to do that was to keep her natural beauty, fill her mind with plenty of knowledge, and train her body and will. She did not think little of the nurse for saying that, but she felt relief as she stepped into the bathroom alone and bolted the door shut behind her.

**OOO**

The evening after she had her stitching removed, Leifang shut herself up in her room, fell onto her bed, and brought up a map of China on her laptop. The country's size is over 9,000,000 km2 and it is home to more than 1,000,000,000 people. For finding Jann Lee, the most intelligent thing to do was find a way to narrow down the numbers dramatically, or else she had nothing.

But where do you begin? Do you take a phone book and skim the names? Do you toss a dart and pick a place to first as random? She had already ruled the internet out of the plan. Jann Lee did not seem to be the type to have an online life. He would see it as a waste of time better used for training.

Leifang sighed. It all seemed a little pointless at that moment. It would have been easier to just corner him at the next tournament, but maybe by then she would not want to talk. Maybe the mood would be bad. Maybe there wouldn't be another tournament. It was highly possible.

She found it hard to think. Whenever she thought of Jann Lee, she remembered the train crash and her face got hot. She remembered the tournament and felt embarrassment. She remembered the night he defended her from the gang and felt angry. Any thought of him made her red with fiery emotions. A knot formed in her stomach and she wanted to punch it down and out of her body.

With a groan, Leifang closed her laptop and decided to distract herself with television. She did not want to think about Jann Lee or anything right now. She wanted to become mindless.

She flicked through the channels with a steady click of the remote, passing soap operas, and evening movies, and quiz shows with flashing lights and enthusiastic live audience members. Nothing got her fleeting attention.

"—held by the DOATEC international corporation."

Her button-mashing finger stopped, and she laughed at herself. There is was again. DOATEC, the tournament, and she could not ignore it. The world could not ignore it. A month had passed and the worldwide public were still bathing in the afterglow of the fighting, and they would keep going until there was nothing left to take in. Then they would move on to hype up of the next tournament.

She put down the remote and watched the news. There was an older man in a navy suit sat behind a desk. A screen behind him showed a headshot of Helena Douglas, with the words "EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW" over the top. Other headlines rolled slowly in front of the man along the bottom of Leifang's TV, completed ignored by everyone as the presenter spoke.

"One month later, our own celebrity reporter, Zhang Wei got to speak to Ms. Helena Douglas, CEO of DOATEC, about the fifth Dead or Alive Tournament, the future of her company and thoughts and opinions about her role in the world of business and entertainment."

The screen cut a pre-recorded film. It was set in a luxury hotel room, midday. A young reported was sat in the foreground, positioned so he was facing away from the camera but his profile was visible to the audience. Facing him was a white woman, blonde and beautiful in a royal sapphire suit. Her hair was tied back in black lace. Between her and the reported was a coffee table with a jug of flavoured ice-water and a couple of glasses.

"First, thank you for taking the time to appear for our interview, Ms. Douglas."

"Thank you for having me," Helena smiled with a nod of her head. Her lips were covered in a sheer pink gloss. Her Chinese was flawless.

"You live a busy life, Ms. Douglas: head of one of the largest and most profitable companies in the world, boss of many smaller businesses, and you have pretty much a permanent public figure for the last few years. And now you have seen the successful fifth tournament; record breaking view numbers, and the whole world is a buzz about it. No argument that it was a financial success and gave DOATEC the much needed good repetition it needed. How do you feel about it, personally? Do you feel accomplishment?"

"Ha. Of course. The tournament served its purpose. This was the first tournament DOATEC that was held with me in full command, and I was a little nervous. I believe it came together very well in the end. The entrees cooperated very well, and even Jann Lee's early leave seemed to benefit us."

"Ah, yes. Have you managed to take down your winner yet?"

"No. We tried, but he does not wish to be found. I am sure if he wishes to claim his prize, he will contact us."

"I see… Well, of course, despite success, the tournament has received its share of disapprovals as well."

"What doesn't get criticised these days?" the woman shrugged. "People like to tear things apart and show the ugliness they find in their destruction."

"We must ask: how do you feel about all the criticism DOA has received over the years? The tournament has been branded as cruel and animalistic before, and this year anti-violence groups have been using the term 'blood bath', saying it is less of a sport but more akin to the days of the gladiator, when Christians were being thrown to the lions, just to show off DOATEC's power."

Helena was thumbing the light chain around her neck, on which a modest crucifix hung. It would suggest that the last comment had got to her, but she kept her steady smile.

"Harsh."

"I'm only repeating your critics, ma'am."

"But understandable." Helena took a brief pause, uncrossed her legs and crossed then again in the opposite direction as she turned her head just slightly so she was facing the camera. She seemed completely unfazed by the slander. "To those who are against the tournament: I am afraid the question you should be asking is not 'why do we offer the world this tournament?' but rather 'why does the world demand this tournament?' The human species has always had a love affair with violence. When someone wrongs us, do we not get faint thoughts of physically harming that person? A desire for their suffering.

"The fighters that take part in Dead or Alive come in their own accord. They all want different things but they all see this tournament as a way to solve something they need correcting or fixing. They may have to return, or they may leave. No one forces them to join but themselves. Until no one needs the tournament, the tournament will remain to support them. I am sorry to disappoint you, but my loyalty is with the fighters."

"I'll hold you to that, princess" Leifang grinned. In a flash, she jumped out of bed and crept down the corridor to her father's home office. He was not in there, too busy with beer and the widescreen downstairs so the girl could go in unseen. Her father had many ties with many different companies, and no matter whom that contact was, their numbers were written down in his brown, leatherback notepad which he kept on his desk. He rarely kept it locked up in a drawer because he needed to refer to it so much, so it was so easy for Leifang to thumb through to the D's, and find "DOATEC" marked up in red. A whole page full of phone numbers and only one of them caught her eye. It was a mobile number, and it had no name to it. She suspected that her dead old daddy was unable to memorise it, and thought it would be safe without a name. The silly fool.

She wrote the number down on a spare bit of paper and returned to her room. She punched the digits into her mobile, lied down, hoping that her suspicions were correct. Impatiently, she lightly tapped her socked feet against the wall.

There was a click and someone spoke to Leifang in English.

"Who is this?"

"Bonjour, Helena. Comment allez-vous ?"

"...I see your French has not improved in the slightest, Leifang. How about we just converse in English for now?"

"How did you know it was me?"

"Only you could butcher an accent with such a joyful tone. Now, I have the feeling what you are phoning for isn't a friendly chit-chat, no? Did your father give you my number?"

"…Kinda."

"_Leifang_."

"I am looking for Jann Lee," the girl told her. "Well, I say that. I have not started looking for him properly, but I just happened to see your lovely face on the TV and it gave me an idea."

"No."

"…Pardon?"

Helena did not sound impressed. Down the phone, Leifang could hear the squeak of an office chair shifting. She could picture Helena in an art deco office, sat behind a wide desk covered in important documents in a towering, red, cushioned chair that reclined so easily with a touch of a button. There is also a sleek computer, white chrome scrolling numbers and facts down its screen. A half-empty cup of foamy coffee is steaming in her other hand. The windows behind her are wide and display a beautiful, cloudless sky. Everything is stylish and perfectly placed, as is Helena. Not a hair out of place. Her mouth is fixed in an elegant frown, plucked brows furrowed.

"Leifang, did your parents ever tell you about the importance of data protection?" Helena asked with a sharp tone to her voice. "I am not happy with your father due to the fact that you managed to find my personal phone number so easily, but I am willing to overlook this incident. As for Jann Lee's address, everyone who enters our tournaments they sign a contract – a contract _you_ have signed five times now - in which they agree to allow DOATEC to use their image for promotional purposes, they will not later sue DOATEC for major injuries they gain during their participation in the tournament be it in-or-out of the ring, and they will give us their personal details."

"Why are you summarising the contract to m-"

"Please, Leifang, let me finish."

Leifang puffed up her cheeks and then deflated them slowly, making a noise that sounded both frustrated and childish.

"Fine."

"…In exchange," Helena continued, "we provide health aid, paid for their expenditures while they are part of the tournament, and we only use their details in case we need to contact them before or after the tournament or to help with arranging transportation. We do not hand said details out to other company or individuals. Not even to follow competitors. That includes _you_."

Leifang frowned, and sat back up.

"Helena, I'm not a rival company or whatever," she said calmly. "I just want to talk to Jann Lee. Is that a problem?"

"When you say talk," Helena asked, curious, "do you mean talk as in sitting down and using words like normal, regular people, or do you mean the DOA kind of conversation which ends in bruising and broken glass?"

Leifang almost growled. "Is that how you view us, Helena? Are we just idiots that can't even talk without becoming violent?"

"I never said that," Helena said. She was not upset, not angry. "Remember that I sometimes take the time to fight with my friends and foes of the tournament as well, sometimes completely on impulse. I am just as bad as everyone else."

"You're telling me."

"I am just… concerned."

"You don't sound all that concerned."

"Well, I am. You and Jann Lee have… a history. I am not sure what happened between you two to cause this rift, but it is there and it is strong. Every time you come within ten feet of each other, something bad happens. Now, I can cope with that within the bounders of the tournament. During that period, you are protected DOATEC. We have private doctors and experienced lawyers that can protect you, but when it is over for the year you lose that barrier and you are back into society again. I am just concerned that if I give you this information, you are going to do something foolish or dangerous, and you are going to get punished because I'm not there to sign of check to make to go away… I don't want to be responsible just because I handed you over an address."

Leifang felt stiffness in her back and arms, and her toes curled into uncomfortable positions. She never once fell under the impression that Helena was not trying to cover her own back from negative reactions that would result from giving out Jann Lee's details, but she also knew that the woman was not heartless. Passed her aloof, serious nature was kindness and loyalty. Although they could never, and would never call each other best friends, Leifang and Helena have known each other for a long time, as have each other's families and there was something there at least.

But that something would not change Leifang's mind.

"Helena," she said, "I promise that if you give me Jann Lee's address, I will not do anything reckless. I will not provoke Jann Lee either."

There was silent on the other end of the phone. There was just the crackling of the phone reception, and a low hum of a machine; likely the sound of a computer running.

"…And you will not break anything either?" Helena asked. "Not any furniture, or electrical equipment, or bones or flesh, or anything at all."

"Sure." Leifang smiled and she sounded like her usual perky, peppy self. "And if I end up messing up, you can suspend me from the tournament. Permanently."

"…Fine." Helena went quiet again, not from thought, but from action. Leifang pressed her ear harder against the phone, and she heard the clitter-clatter of manicured nails moving shifty over a keyboard, and the tap of a mouse button. "Hm."

"What?"

"He never filled out the address field fully."

Leifang made a loud noise, like a bark. She was so close to finding Jann Lee, and now things were just getting frustrating.

"You're lying," she shouted down the mouth piece. "You just don't want to give me his details."

"We always give fighters the option to decline from giving DOATEC certain details," Helena sighed. "So this is why we have not been able to hand over the prize money over to him. Hm. I was wondering what had happened with that…"

Leifang lowered her shoulders. "So what _did_ he write?"

"Kowloon."

She raised her shoulders again.

"That's in Hong Kong." She smiled a little bit. "It's not small, but not too big either… Thank you, Helena. I can work with that."

"You are welcome… Oh, and Leifang?"

"Yeah?"

"Make sure you don't tell anyone where you got this information from either. That is also a penalty that will result in your indefinite sanction from Dead or Alive. Please never contact me on this number again."

And with that Helena put the phone down.

**OOO**

The next day Leifang told her parents that she was going on a trip to the south. She told them that she was going to see somebody she knew from the tournament. Not a friend, but not quite a full-on foe. She needed to see them for personal reasons.

Her parents were concerned of course, but as it was the tournament they kept their questions to a minimum. To make them feel better, Leifang took the emergency credit card and saved her father's work number, just in case.

Aside from that, nothing was in Leifang's way and within three days she was on a coach traveling to Kowloon.

She could have taken a short plane ride, or even a train or two, but the buses appealed to her. The types of people who took them were old people and those who did not have much interest in fighters in anyway or form, so she was less likely to be hassled. On the couch, she was just a young woman on a little trip from home, and not Leifang the brawler, or The Cute One from DOA. Fame was fun, but not in the inclosed spaces of public transport.

The coach were also slower, more laid back then other transport too. It gave her opportunities to think about what she would say to Jann Lee, all of which she wasted by reading or watching films on her phone or staring out of the window.

Whenever they made a rest stop, Leifang made sure to stretch. The children on the bus watched her bend and tried to copy. They couldn't reach their toes. She could.

An old woman, small with prune skin and a gentle smile that never left her face took hold of Leifang's hand and told her it was nice to see a young lady like her looking after her body in the right ways. For Leifang, it just reminded her of warm-ups before a punch-up, and she smiled at her own private joke.

When the coach arrived in Kowloon, Leifang was dropped off by a little hotel. It was not splendid, more run of the mill, but compared to a coach with no showers or even an on-board toilet, she was happy to be there. She spent her first night in a warm shower, to freshen herself up, then catching up with her sleep.

The next day it was all business. She got up, dressed, had a quick bite of breakfast at a café – toast and sweetened coffee – and began her search. She only had one opinion: look and listen. She kept her eyes open to spot a tall guy with board shoulders and short spiked hair, and asked people going about their daily business if they have ever seen him on these street. She went into gyms, a likely habitat for a fighter, and bars and shops, and asked the staff. All she had to show people was a promotional photo she printed off at home and kept safe in her purse.

Before the tournament, they all had to pose for photos, to use for advertisements and the big screens during the tournaments. For hers, Leifang played it cute and stood hip out, fist casually placed by her cheek. Jann Lee looked more like a legitimate fighter, in a stance as if ready to strike the camera. He looked fierce. Some people were happy to help, while others looked at her like she was a weird little girl. Most people did not seem to have any personal opinion about her quest. Not one person had seen him.

When she had done a full trek of one area, the next day she would catch a bus or a train and go a little further out, and start the search all over again. Nothing changed, safe the current location. Five days later, she felt tired, she felt that she had been everywhere, and she felt as if she was never going to find Jann Lee. Maybe he knew that she was coming and went underground. Maybe he had moved and did not tell DOATEC. He was not an open type of guy.

In the early evening of the five day, Leifang stopped her search early and dropped herself into a high stool standing at the counter of a small bar. It was a weekday, so it only had a few people few and there, and the atmosphere was quiet and subtle. She ordered a rum and coke and sipped it lazily as she stared down grumpily at the Jann Lee promo, which was now crumpled and torn in the top corner. She helped herself to the peanut bowl. She was grateful that her lip was now fully healed, since they were salted. She sometimes ran her tongue over the scar, and she could feel the dent. It was just another to add to the many more dotted over her body like moles and freckles.

"Here, young lady?"

Leifang looked up, and saw that someone had joined her at the bar. This person was a man, maybe in his forties. He was already greying and had crow's feet wrinkles around his watery eyes, but he was well-dressed and he was muscular. He looked like the kind of guy who had a tailor-made training program and a good life with a loyal housewife and children in high school, just about ready to leave home. His smile was kind.

"Do you mind," he asked, "if I share those nibbles you have?"

Leifang blinked. She had been so absorbed in her thoughts and rum she had to take a moment to catch up with the rest of the world.

"Oh. The nuts? Of course." She pushed the bowl a little towards him with one finger. "Please, help yourself."

"Thank you kindly." The guy reached over, picked up the bowl then stopped. He had noticed the piece of tatty paper in front of the girl flatten out across the bar top, slightly obscured by her empty glass tumbler. With his free hand, he lifted the glass and held it over the subject's face. It was magnified through the glass, making the sneer larger, the eyes bigger.

"Jann Lee?"

Leifang arched a brow. "You know him?"

"Doesn't every fighting enthusiast?" the man asked. He sat back down and took a handful of peanuts. "You're a fan of his?"

"I would never say that," the girl laughed. "I'm more of a… colleague of his."

"Oh?" The man looked at her, thinking hard, then he finally recognized her. "Oh. Leifang, right?" The girl nodded her head and he grinned, laughed a little. "Ha. I thought you seemed familiar. My apologies. I did not recognize you without the braids and the cheongsam."

"That's okay," Leifang said to him with her sweetest smile. "Sometimes I enjoy it when people don't recognize me… Are you a fan of Jann Lee?"

"Hm. He is a bit hot-headed for my liking," the man admitted. He took a pause to call over the barman and ordered a cold bottle of beer. He took a swig and made a satisfied sound. "I have to admit. It's the young ones that I'm interested in. All that raw talent and hopeful smiles – it's a sweet sight to behold. Jann is too beaten and harden to be like that anymore. Every week he turns up and just trains without much as a couple of words to anyone. Not a friendly sort of chap, is he?"

Leifang almost spat out the peanuts in her mouth, and almost chocked on one. She stared at the man in disbelief.

"You know Jann Lee?"

The man blinked at her. "Did I not mention that?"

"Not 'til now." She felt excited. She felt relief. She jumped out of her chair and came right up next to him and almost knocked him off his own stool onto the waxed floor. "I have spent almost a week trying to find him. Where have you seen him?"

"Oh. I would not say I know him," the man told her, "but we share a gym. It's a little place, not very far from here. Mostly a place where young guys who think they are so tough go and show off. Jann is the only kid there that is being serious." The man arched a brow at the girl. "He doesn't know you are looking for him, does he?"

Leifang sighed; her shoulders slumped a bit, and sat on her seat again. She stared into the bottom of her glass, seeing Jann Lee's warped, crumpled paper-face looking back up at her.

"I will let you into a secret," Leifang said. "That rivalry Jann and I have in the tournament. It's not just for the cameras or anything. It's real. Ask any of our contemporise. However, I am telling you right now. I am not after a fight. I just wish to speak to him."

The man had to consider her words, but only for a moment. He finished his bottle, than pulled out a pen. He drew out a little map for the girl on the back of the Jann Lee promo, showing her how to get from the bar to the gym. It was just a couple of blocks away, in a small building off the main road. To thank him, Leifang bought him another drink and stayed to keep him company until he had to leave. His wife doesn't like him staying out at the bar all evening, he told Leifang, and if she found out he was speaking to such a pretty young girl that would be the end of him.

During her taxi ride back to the hotel, the reality of the situation hit Leifang in the chest. Tomorrow she could be meeting Jann Lee again. What was she going to say to him? What was going to happen? What was she going to wear? She did not sleep so well that night.


End file.
